LONDON MARKET OPEN: Micro Focus Down More; PageGroup Outlook Hits Hays

(Alliance News) - The mood in London on Wednesday was cautious ahead of comments from the head of the US central bank in front of Congress later in the day, as markets mull easier monetary policy in the near-future.In the FTSE 100, Micro Focus was extending Tuesday's losses in opening trade Wednesday, while Ashtead slipped on a downgrade. In the FTSE 250, a downbeat outlook from recruitment firm PageGroup hit peer Hays as well.The large-cap index was 6.76 points lower, or 0.1%, at 7,529.71 early Wednesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 14.73 points, or 0.1%, at 19,452.64, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% higher at 909.10.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,768.30. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% lower at 17,365.56, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was unchanged at 11,245.91.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both down 0.2% in morning trade.In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is 0.2% lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.3%."Market risk sentiment is cautious ahead of Fed Chair Powell's testimony to Congress later today," said Lloyds Banking. "Powell will be aware of current market expectations for a quarter-point reduction this month," said Lloyds. "Investors will be watching closely for more clarity on the Fed's policy intentions."Powell appears in front of Congress starting at 1500 BST. Later, at 1900 BST, minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting are released.Elsewhere in Wednesday's events calendar, UK manufacturing and industrial production, alongside a GDP reading for May, is due at at 0930 BST. Irish inflation is at 1100 BST.Consensus, as cited by FXStreet, is for UK GDP to grow 0.3% in May following a 0.4% contraction in April.At the bottom of London's FTSE 100 in early dealings was Micro Focus International, down 2.2% as it extended the previous session's 5.3% slide. The software firm on Tuesday reported a fall in interim revenue, though profit surged on the sale of its SUSE business. Equipment rental firm Ashtead was down 1.2% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight.In the FTSE 250, JD Wetherspoon gained 1.8% as the pub operator reported strong growth in sales as it backed its annual outlook.Like-for-like sales were up 6.9% in the 10 weeks to July 7, with total sales up 6.6%. In the year-to-date, like-for-like sales are up 6.7% and total sales up 7.4%.Chair Tim Martin said the pub's expectations for the full-year - which ends on July 28 - remain unchanged. Dunelm was up 1.5% on news the home furnishings retailer saw strong growth in its fourth quarter.Like-for-like sales growth in the fourth quarter was up 15%, which the company ascribed to strong underlying sales both in stores and online. Store comparable revenue was up 12% in the final quarter of the financial year, while online revenue soared 37%.Total revenue in the 13 weeks to June 29 was GBP264.1 million, up 12% on a year ago. In the 52 weeks to June 29, revenue was up 4.8% to GBP1.10 billion.The company said it expects annual pretax profit to be towards the upper end of its GBP124 million to GBP126 million forecast range."In the short-term, we remain cautious about the uncertain political climate and the impact it may have on consumer spending, but expect to make further progress in the year ahead and are confident about the group's longer-term prospects," said Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson.Trailing all other mid-caps was PageGroup, down 10%. This was after the head hunting firm said it expects annual profit to be towards the lower end of market forecasts given macro-economic difficulties.Gross profit grew 7.9% in the second quarter to GBP224.6 million, boosted by 19% growth in the Americas. Asia Pacific grew 6.4%, despite Greater China slipping 1%, while profit from the UK fell 2.4%."It is clear that macro-economic conditions in a number of our regions are becoming more challenging, and, as such, we currently expect 2019 operating profit to be towards the lower end of the range of current market forecasts," the company observed, noting that consensus for 2019 sees operating profit of GBP161.1 million, with a range of GBP156.5 million to GBP168.0 million.Recruitment peer Hays was down 5.4% in a negative read-across. Hays releases a trading statement next week on Tuesday.Superdry sank 9.5% on a swing to annual loss and a warning that the year ahead is to be one of "reset".Total revenue was flat at GBP871.7 million in the year to April 27, which the company said was down to a stronger first half performance followed by a poor six months across all channels.The company turned to a pretax loss of GBP85.4 million from a profit of GBP65.3 million the year before, and slashed its final dividend by 90% to just 2.2 pence from 21.3p.Given the scale of the "trading downturn" in the recently ended financial year, management views the coming year as one of "reset". Superdry said it expects the 2020 financial year to reflect market conditions and the "historical issues" inherited by the business.Despite early, small positive results from new initiatives, Superdry expects revenue to show a "slight decline" in the year ahead."The issues in the business will not be resolved overnight. My first priority on returning to Superdry has been to steady the ship and get the culture of the business back to the one which drove its original success," said Founder & Interim Chief Executive Julian Dunkerton, who won his battle to return to the board in April.